Colombia and FARC Rebels Reach a Deal to Free Child Soldiers

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement to release child soldiers from rebel custody, an important step in peace negotiations, which are in their final stages.

The deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, could involve hundreds of children who were recruited to fight in Colombia’s long civil war, though no census of child soldiers has ever been taken.

“One of the biggest horrors of a conflict is when we drag our children and young people into combat,” said Humberto de la Calle, a chief government negotiator. “It’s for this reason that this agreement is a crucial advance in the process of bringing this war to a close.”

According to the terms of the agreement, FARC and the government would soon determine an immediate “exit” for those under 15 and develop a “road map for an exit for the remaining minors,” those between 15 and 18.

FARC has said in the past that it no longer recruits child soldiers. But during a visit this year by a New York Times reporter to a rebel camp, minors said guerrilla fighters had taken them into custody in recent months.

Analysts say that reintegrating the former child soldiers into mainstream society will be a crucial test of the success of Colombia’s peace deal. Many fear that ex-guerrilla fighters could be recruited by criminal groups. Former child soldiers say they have struggled in their new lives outside the camps and often think of returning.

In a statement, FARC said it did not enlist those younger than 15.

“However, when the war intensified, many arrived whose fathers had been killed by paramilitary violence or simply had fled mistreatment and had no futures,” the statement said. “In these cases, we gave them refuge and protection that orphanhood and poverty denied them.”

Negotiators say they are in the final phase of talks and hope to announce a cease-fire before the start of the summer. The two sides missed a deadline in March, however, and say many disagreements remain.